The colour of our hair is created by the pigment-producing cells, referred to as melanocytes, positioned in every hair follicle. Within the technique of producing the pigment for our hair, these cells additionally produce another chemical compounds, certainly one of which is hydrogen peroxide (sure, the stuff that bleaches your hair). Once we’re younger, our our bodies additionally produce enzymes to neutralize that hydrogen peroxide and different free radicals so our hair retains rising in with colour. As we age, nonetheless, these neutralizing enzymes turn out to be much less energetic than they as soon as had been, which implies that hydrogen peroxide begins to construct up and sap colour from our hair, leaving it a beautiful shade of grey—and, finally, white, as soon as the strand has misplaced all its pigment.
Though most grey is expounded to a pure a part of the ageing course of, a major environmental issue is UV publicity, which might speed up hair ageing. One research—on mice, not people—demonstrated that not solely did UV publicity produce grey hairs, but it surely additionally decreased the diameter of the hairs and shortened the shafts of the roots. To be extra particular, publicity to UVA rays (these longer wavelengths) damages hair pigment, whereas UVB publicity (shorter wavelengths) damages hair proteins, particularly keratin. So daylight, which carries each UVA and UVB, is a double-whammy for hair harm.
Along with UV publicity, different way of life components contribute to going grey, like smoking, anemia, poor diet, low B nutritional vitamins, and untreated thyroid situations, says Hadley King, MD, a dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis. Genetics also can play a task; in case your mother and father went grey at a youthful age, you most likely will too.
One contributing issue that is perhaps a bit extra in our management is stress. Scientists discovered that the physique’s “battle or flight” response can contribute to turning hair grey. Keep in mind these pigment-producing cells, the melanocytes? Once you’re below stress, you launch a hormone referred to as norepinephrine, which principally causes your physique to enter overdrive—and burn by means of stem cells at a a lot sooner fee. Which means, as your hair’s pigment-producing melanocytes die off (they sometimes dwell about 3 to five years), there aren’t sufficient energetic stem cells to interchange all of them… and a few hair begins to develop in with out pigment, i.e. flip grey.
Is reversing grey hair doable?
Possibly, particularly if you happen to’ve simply found your first strands of silver. “We all know that in intervals of stress, particular person hairs in your head can go grey. After which they’re going to flip again as soon as the stressor is eliminated,” says James O’Sullivan, Ph.D., a postdoctoral analysis affiliate in developmental biology and cell metabolism, who has been concerned in analysis on the subject.
